The first batch of 763 young people, made up of 497 men and 263 ladies from the Volta, Oti and Eastern regions have commenced a three-week Community Protection Assistants (CPA) course at the Ho Police Training School.
This is part of a module of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to empower young Ghanaians with the relevant skills and knowledge to contribute to community policing.
Among the recruits were 322 from the Volta Region, 544 from Eastern Region, and 147 from Oti Region.
The Volta Regional Director of the YEA, Daniel Hamenu, said at the opening ceremony today (Wednesday, July 23) the training was not just about imparting knowledge in the recruits, but also about shaping the future of the communities.
It is also about fostering a culture of collaboration, trust, and mutual respect between law enforcement agencies and the community they serve, he added.
Mr Hamenu said the YEA was collaborating with the Ghana Police Service to look into the possibility of absorbing the CPAs who completed their two-year stipulated engagements in the communities into the service.
The YEA regional director announced other modules in the areas of Youth Arabic Education, Community Education Teaching Assistants, and School Support Assistants which encompassed kitchen porters and security guards, security guards, were also being rolled by the agency for young people.
He gave an assurance the Government remained committed to creating more jobs for the teeming youth, saying the YEA envisioned a future in which communities were safer, more resilient, and more prosperous under the initiative.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, who graced the opening ceremony, commended the YEA for the transparent manner in which the beneficiaries of the programme were selected.
He told the recruits community policing went far beyond a job occupation, to the demonstration of a firm stance to serve and make sacrifices for the nation.
He urged the recruits to blend with the people in the communities they would be posted to, and work hard to preserve the image of the Ghana Police Service.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Volta Region, DCOP Wisdom Akorli said the training programme bore ample testimony of the Ghana Police Services commitment to community safety all the time.
Assistant Commissioner of Police and Commandant of the Ho Police Training School, ACP William Acolatse said the course content included criminal law, human rights, community policing, and client care management, intelligence gathering, in addition to physical training and drills.
He entreated the recruits to cooperate with the course instructors in their own interest.